Xintian Legacy

Lodebow

An ancient eldritch rifle.

Description:

The Lodebow is mechanically similiar to a + 5 Deadeye Compound Bow (+ 2 Str). The wielder must have a +2 str mod to use prificiently. Deadeye ranged weapons are similiar to Vorpal melee weapons; on a confirmed critical vs a creature vulnerable to critical hits, the bolt pierces through some vital part of the target, killing it instantly. The adalloy barrel and z1 stock both have 60 independent hitpoints and hardness 20, and the materials’ innate resistant to magic energies effectively give it SR 20. They fire crossbow bolts which are priced normally, and any enhancement on them also work as they otherwise would (keen bolts double the threat range, bolts of spell storing cast their spells on the target, etc). The lodebows themselves are priceless, as only two are known to exist. That being said, should one arise on the market it would go for roughly 100 Stezet Plates.

A successful hit deals 9d6 points of piercing damage, and kills on a critical as per Deadeye. It has a mounted spyglass which gives it great accuracy and a range increment 250 ft. It weighs 15 lbs, and the tremendous kick from firing deals the wielder 1d6 bludgeoning damage and knocks non-proficient wielders prone. Reloading is a full round action (meaning a full attack will never grant additional attacks with this weapon), but the rifle requires 1d10 rounds to recharge itself between each firing.

If one should somehow repair the control circuitry, they will find that the rifle can accept command chits into a socket in the stock. The chits augment its abilities, usually at the expense of longer recharge times:

An empower chip will cause the bolt to continue through the target, striking any additional target(s) behind the initial one in a straight 25 ft line from the wielder. This also adds 3 rounds to the charging time.

An enlarge chit adds an additional 100 feet to the range increment, at the cost of two additional rounds to recharge.

An extend chit adds fluting to the bolt to give the rifle the wounding property. This increase the recharge time by 2 rounds.

A heighten chit shapes and hardens the bolt’s tip, causing it to ignore up to 10 points of natural armor. This adds 2 rounds to the charge time.

A maximize chit charges the bolt with resonant energy, causes it to vibrate intensely. Upon a successful hit, the bolt explodes, dealing an additional 2d6 damage to any enemy within 15 ft of the target. This extra energy requires an additional 4 rounds of recharge time.

A quicken chit stabilizes the power supply, and the rifle recharges in exactly five rounds.

A stealth chit adds 2 rounds to the charge time and uses the energy to emit a dampening field, giving the wielder a +10 circumstance bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks.

A subtle chit shapes the pulse wave form, eliminating the kickback and its effects. This slows recharge by 2 rounds.

A widen chit will alter the pulse pattern, causing the bolt to shatter and the fragments to spray out as a 50 ft cone, dealing 5d6/x3 damage.

Adding and removing a chit are both full round actions; switching one chit for another requires two full round actions. The circuits in an integrated chit heat from the rifle’s current, gaining a cumulative 2% chance per round to fail, maxing at 50% after 25 rounds. Removing the chit allows it to cool at the same rate. If the chit fails, it is not destroyed, but the pulse fires incorrectly, wasting the charge and pulverizing the bolt instead of firing.

Though the rifle’s magic-resistant materials make it very difficult to cast any spells directly on the rifle, it was specifically designed to work in conjunction with the natural magical abilities of the Tolyani Elites, who resemble modern warlocks. The grip and trigger assembly is connected to the barrel’s internal rings (and therefor, the ammunition) by conductive elements, allowing Elites to channel their eldritch invocations into the attack. The damage is additive (a new recruit firing an blast-enhanced bolt would deal 10d6), as were most effects of eldritch essences. Under some circumstances, blast shapes could also be applied, if the circumstance was right. A widen chit modified rifle could add the eldritch blast damage if the wielder applied the eldritch cone blast shape, for example, and a bolt channeling a vitriolic blast would ignore hardness, deal extra acid damage, and ongoing damage for a few rounds. Additionally, spellcasters and psions can expend their resources to reduce the rifle’s recharge time, channeling the spell or power into the weapon and reducing the recharge time by a number of rounds equal to the spell or manifester level.

Bio:

The Netzachite Anti-Armor Pulse Rifle (“the napper” to Tolyani Elites and a lodebow to modern wielders who assume it operates via powerful lodestones) is an anti material rifle developed by the Tolyani to help the Elites combat the unnatural forces of the mad godling. Built of adalloy and synthetic polymers for superior durability, a number have survived through two world shaking epochs in hidden supply caches, though the sensitive circuitry of their control units have suffered considerable corrosion over the centuries. With out it, they act as powerful crossbows, firing bolts to considerable ranges and doing respectable damage. The two foot adalloy barrel rests squarely upon a sturdy z1 polymer full stock, making the weapon practically indestructible.

Currently only two examples of this remarkable ranged weapon are know to exists, and they both find use as defensive weapons of last resort, used to protect great nobility. Both are confirmed to be lacking a functional control module. One finds use in the hands of Belshaw the Outlander, a powerful ranger who has sworn to protect the Tomb of the High King from any would be plunderer. Spending much of his time in the tower over the mausoleum, it is virtually impossible to enter the tomb’s clearing without him knowing, and indeed without the quick-eyed elf passing up a handful of opportunities to kill you where you stand. The second rifle is the much-loved primary weapon of the Dwarven archpriest’s personal guardian, Kayt the Bold, the only female to count herself among the ranks of the Knights of Pluto, and the order’s only Megiddan.

The barrel is lined internally with rings of Netzachite wired to the trigger mechanism, a piezoelectric striker set in the grip. The netzachite is highly refined, and quickly stores enough energy for a considerable pulse. The pulses are released in rapid sequence, throwing any projectile placed in the barrel at phenomenal speeds. Bolts are recommended, as arrows and sling bullets are usually too fragile and shatter from the strain. If the control unit were somehow repaired, the weapon’s abilities can be augmented by integrating a control chit into a small socket a bit below the eyepiece of the rifle’s mounted spyglass.

Designed to efficiently utilize the martial and magical aptitudes of the Tolyani’s Elite military forces, the powerful weapon included special elements designed to allow the wielder to channel arcane abilities into the bolt chamber, adding the effects and damage of their eldritch blast to the already considerable destructive force imparted by the weapon itself. Soldiers were encouraged to experiment with different ammo enhancements and blast-altering invocations to find the most devastating combination they could. The more successful individuals were giving commendations, even climbing rapidly through the hierarchy when they showed considerable tactical prowess. One such individual, Second Falcon Bojan Eadwig, was promoted to First Dragoon because he became well known for designing two set ups, which become known as the Bojan array and the Eadwig array. The first was designed for close ranges, a combination of a widen chit and a Bewitching Cone-imbued shocking burst bolt, and found widespread use in killing the swarms of tiny broodlings that often swarmed otherwise well defended bunkers. The widen chit/eldritch cone combination created a 50 ft cone full of invocation-imbued flack, and the bewitching blast/thundering combination so effectively confused and disoriented the broodlings that the few who survived the inital blast often tore each other to pieces before regaining a clear enough mind to act in unison. The second was for much longer ranges, a combination of the quicken chit and a fluted bolt (bolt of wounding) carrying a vitriolic chain, and often used against the infamous Slaughterkings. Each successive bolt dealt cumulative constitution damage, making the acid damage harder and harder to deal with, and the jumping effect of the chain negated the considerable dodging ability of the slaymasters that were often kept close to the king. The chit enabled a relentless barrage meant to fully utilize the short time between Slaughterking detection and arrival, and this array was often the only hope of taking down a king before he lay waste to the outpost he approached.